CATEGORIES

Way out west

Two vast and important estates in the South-West have it all, from copious farmland and rental income, to clifftop views and near-private beaches

We must restore local churches to local people

Parish churches may still be physically the centre of communities, but their redundancy as places of worship is becoming a national crisis. Simon Jenkins proffers solutions to the nation's greatest conservation challenge, including deconsecration and looking to European models

The beauty of materials

Tim Moulding of traditional builders R. Moulding & Co explains the relationship between good-quality, well-chosen materials and beautiful buildings

The Ark

'Tradescant had one of the first horse chestnuts planted in this country'

The misunderstood queen

Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen | Teller of the Unexpected: The Life of Roald Dahl, an Unofficial Biography

Old masters know best

Depth of knowledge still tells, with experienced dealers faring well at London Art Week

The only way is Essex

Two starring country houses with ancient origins have recently been rescued and another has emerged unscathed from wartime action

Sweet with the evening rain

There are few scents quite so evocative of summer as that of rain upon warm earth-but why does it smell so good? Martin Fone explores petrichor

My field of dreams

Even managing the smallest of acreages for wildlife, by carefully considering what you plant and when, can make a massive difference to all sorts of flora and fauna, advocates Simon Lester

Shooting season blighted by partridge shortage

The perfect storm of Brexit, covid and avian flu means that many shoots are having to reduce the number of days offered or close entirely

Heroic restorations

Three fine country homes have had new life breathed into them by their determined owners

A perfect marriage

A house that is in perfect harmony with its surroundings will enhance the everyday lives of its owners

Instant gratification

Tiffany Daneff visits a recently built property in the Home Counties, which proves that, with forethought, a new garden needn't look new

A close call

With the curlew-that wader with a haunting call-now almost extinct in the South of England, Simon Lester meets the Duke of Norfolk, who is hoping to pull them back from the brink on his West Sussex estate

Getting to the pointer

They are arrestingly handsome, built for efficiency and have an unmatched prey drive, yet German shorthaired pointers are a rare sight in the field, laments Arabella Byrne

A town-house transformation

The shell of an 1860s coach house has been internally reconfigured to dazzling effect with the help of the finest contemporary craftsmanship.

Our Queen, the Duke

From a brace of mallards to a placid cow, Matthew Dennison examines the unusual connections between Jersey and the Royal Family

And the rest is history

The Surrey Hills is very much Lutyens and Jekyll territory, notably at their first-ever collaboration at the garden designer's home, Munstead Wood, and nearby Munstead Place

Founding fathers

In COUNTRY LIFE's 125th year, Editor-in-Chief Mark Hedges pays a visit to Lindisfarne, the castle owned and restored by the magazine's founder as his Northumberland retreat

Living with the Romans

The Romans may have long departed, but the remains of their presence are still evident on several country estates. Bronwen Riley meets the proud custodians of these remarkable and sometimes haunting sites

The king's invention

Many monarchs of the Enlightenment showed an active interest in architecture. Inspired by a new facsimile of royal drawings from Sweden, Clive Aslet looks at the designs of Gustavus III

What lies beneath

The UK's seagrass meadows are an important wildlife habitat and fundamental to combating climate change, but they're disappearing at a rapid rate. Jack Watkins finds out more about the ongoing fight to save them

Urban streams

The need for clean water in 19th-century Britain led to a new and magnificent genre of street furniture. Kathryn Ferry examines the drinking fountain

Oh , Mr Porter

WHAT I like about film work is that it is constructive. You're building up a character all the time,' Will W Hay once explained.

How terribly English

New playwright Steven Moffat may be the natural successor to Alan Ayckbourn and Anupama Chandrasekhar's work sheds light on Gandhi's assassin

Homegrown heroes

Reports of the death of the British ceramics industry are premature

Come what blooms

The new head gardener at Knepp in West Sussex talks to Flora Watkins about a different direction for the rewilding pioneers-and why gardeners need to unclench

Head for the farm

More and more travellers are abandoning traditional holidays in favour of staying on a working farm. Rosie Paterson investigates why and where to find the best

An ideal manor house

Mapperton House, Dorset The home of the Viscount and Viscountess Hinchingbrooke. Fresh research reveals more about the history of one of our most celebrated manor houses and its magnificent gardens, finds Timothy Conno

The slug of the Baskervilles

Prowl the wilds of Dartmoor at night and you just might stumble upon our largest land slug